Kolkata: West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee government yesterday suffered a double whammy in the Calcutta High Court, which disapproved of her time frame for the Kamduni gang rape and murder probe, and directed the regime to include all leading newspapers in the list of publications to be kept in state-run and aided libraries.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) pleading for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the sexual assault and killing of a college girl in North 24-Parganas district on June 7, a division bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi said it would monitor the probe.
The bench directed the CID to submit a report on the course of its inquiry by July 30, when the bench will again take up the matter.
The petition had sought that the court monitor investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The bench observed that if the head of the administration sets a deadline for completion of the inquiry, investigators would be put under pressure, and said the court would keep an eye on the probe.
During her visit to the house of the victim at Kamduni village June 17, Banerjee had said the charge sheet in the case would be submitted within 15 days.
The state government suffered another setback when the same bench of the Calcutta High Court directed it to include all leading newspapers, some of which the regime last year dropped from the list, among publications to be available in state-run and aided libraries.
Hearing a PIL moved by counsel Basabi Rai Chowdhury, Justice Mishra and Justice Bagchi asked the government to notify the names of leading newspapers within two weeks.
IANS
